During the later 13th century, the cusader movement was declining. The French House of Anjou had managed to secure a number of
crusader states, as well as the old Norman KINGDOM OF SICILY, for themselves.
In 1282 the Aragonese secured Sicily by occupying the island and killing the Angevins they could get a hold of (the SICILIAN VESPERS),
taking revenge for what happened to the Aragonese in the Languedoc during the 'crusades' against the Albigensians and a Sicilian
revenge for what the Angevins did to the last Staufer King. Sicily was to remain Aragonese until the latter was merged with Castile to
form Spain in 1479. The Angevins held on to the Kingdom of Naples.
In 1297 the Aragonese challenged Pisan and Genovan rule over SARDINIA, hitherto contested between the Italian republics of Pisa
and Genova. The Aragonese claim to the island was recognized in 1328, but for long periods of time hardly extended beyond the city
walls of Cagliari and ALGHERO, the latter a city where still today a Catalan dialect is spoken. In 1311 the GRAND COMPANY, a band of
Catalonian mercenaries who, in true Gothic tradition, had signed up to serve the Byzantine Emperor; when he failed to pay them, they
took the DUCHY OF ATHENS. Aragon had become a major Mediterranean power, it's capital BARCELONA risen to an equal of Venice.

click here for maps showing the Mediterranean world in 1300
and 1400, from De Imperatoribus Romanis (in French)

B.) The structure of the Aragonese Complex of Territories

The territories within the Aragonian realm were split among various branches of the dynasty; for years, the KINGDOM OF MALLORCA,
including the other Balearic islands and various territories located in the Languedoc, such as Roussillon and Montpellier, was
technically independent. So was the Kingdom of Sicily, an Aragonese SECUNDOGENITURE. The Duchy of Athens was run by the Grand
Company, as an Aragonese fief, lost in 1381 to Corinth. Although over extended periods of time ruled as separate states, the Aragonese
sphere was repeatedly reunited under one king.
In a document of 1243, King James called himself King of Aragon, Mallorca and Valencia, Count of Barcelona, Urgell and Lord of
Montpellier. What is indicated as the Kingdom of Aragon on many historical maps in fact was a conglomerate of territories which
were held together by the ruling dynasty, but otherwise managed on their own. Aragon proper, capital Zaragoza, was the largest of
these territories and was always listed prominent (first) among the dynasty's many titles. The kings, however, resided in BARCELONA,
the capital of Catalonia. As Barcelona was only a county, it was listed further down. Yet, Barcelona's harbour connected Aragon with it's
various possessions spread over the Mediterranean.
Mallorca and Valencia were conquests; the Muslim population at the time of the conquest (the far majority) was expelled (Baleares) resp.
banned to the countryside (Valencia). PALMA DE MALLORCA and VALENCIA became both capitals as well as bustling harbours,
competing with Barcelona.

Aragon, as far as it covered stretches of modern Spain, thus fell into 4 distinct regions - Aragon proper, Catalonia, Mallorca and Valencia.
The Kingdom of Aragon feateured prominently in it, because in the core union of Aragon and Catalonia (Barcelona), the Kingdom of
Aragon outranked the County of Barcelona. Yet Catalonia dominated the Empire. Both Mallorca and Valencia became Catalan-speaking
areas, as opposed to Aragon where Castilian is spoken. Aragonese policy centered around overseas expansion, which was in
Catalonian interest rather than in that of landlocked Aragon.
Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and Mallorca had distinct parliaments (CORTES), administrations, sets of law. The areas were preserving their
distinct identities over centuries. After Aragon and Castile merged to form the unified Kingdom of Spain, Catalonia saw frequent risings -
which hardly found any resonance in Aragon proper. The distance separating Catalonia from Aragon proper seemed to be larger than that
separating Aragon proper from Castile.
Ecclesiastically, Aragon proper and Catalonia, together with Navarra, formed the ARCHDIOCESIS OF TARRAGONA (suffragans of Tarragona
after 1318 : Barcelona, Lerida, Gerona, Urgel, Vich, Tortosa, Solsona). The Baleares, since 1237, formed an exempted bishopric. In 1318,
the ARCHDIOCESIS OF ZARAGOZA was formed (suffragan dioceses at Jaca, Huesca, Tarazona, Barbastro and Teruel), covering Aragon
proper and Navarra. In 1458, the ARCHDIOCESIS OF VALENCIA was founded. The church organization is a reflexion of the political division
of Aragon. The Patron Saint of Aragon and Catalonia is St. GEORGE (in Catalan Jordi).